Unit 1 Written Assignment

University of the People

HS 2711-01

Dr. Steven Pippins

June 25th, 2024

 “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the

absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health Organization, 1948). This definition of health

given in the constitution of the World Health Organization is the most common definition to date.

The constitution was signed in July 1946 and was meant to govern an all-nations organization on

the health of its citizens, but do the ideas from this original constitution continue to apply to

present day health care?

Looking at the United States, I believe that the U.S. follows the concept from the World

Health Organization the most. Everything listed within the WHO’s constitution is taken into

account and at the very minimum governed and taught to be ideal for the health care system.

However, taught and practiced are different. Take, for example, the ability to have the

highest standard of health regardless of race, religion, political belief, or economic or social

status (World Health Organization, 1948). Studies have shown that people enrolled in Medicare

and Medicaid are significantly disadvantaged when it comes to medical care and their care tends

to be less adequate than that of someone with private insurance (National Research Council (US)

Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life, 2004). This suggests that this disadvantage is

due to the economic or social status of a person.

Looking at social and economic status being the cause of a portion of the inadequacy of

health care, there are a couple of things that can be done in order to help remedy it. The United

States is the only developed country without a universal health coverage system (Shvili, 2020).

While the universal health coverage system has flaws of its own, it would guarantee that every

citizen would receive health care regardless of their social or economic status. Another remedy

would be for providers to practice for the sake of practicing medicine. All too many health care

providers are more concerned about the bottom line than treating patients and providing adequate
medical care. If this is taken out of the equation, it is possible that there will be an improvement

in the care provided to all people.

Another example of the way the United States does not live up to the WHO’s constitution

is the informed opinion and active co-operation of the public (World Health Organization, 1948).

We learned this very well during the Covid-19 pandemic. We live in an information age and the

information is readily available through many different sources including social media. However,

the information was misconstrued on many levels and opinions were spoken very loudly. This

unfortunately led to a lack of public cooperation. As a Public Health Worker, all we asked was

for the public to make an informed decision, but to come to that decision through reputable

sources.

It would be very difficult to remedy ensuring that the public is given informed opinion

and that they are actively cooperating in their own healthcare. One possible remedy is that all

healthcare providers are on the same page with the information they are giving to patients. For

example, as an employee of Public Health, we promote all childhood vaccination schedules

according to the recommendations of the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or

CDC. When a provider takes a more holistic approach and recommends only one or two vaccines

at a time, it makes it difficult to have the cooperation of the public on the topic of vaccinations. If

all healthcare providers followed the same recommendations, this would greatly increase public

cooperation and overall physical health.

There are many definitions of health. While the United States follows the model that

more closely identifies in which was stated in the constitution of the World Health Organization,

the U.S healthcare system is flawed. There are potential ways to bring these flaws back into

alignment with the WHO constitution’s original ideas, but change will be needed.
References:

World Health Organization. (1948). CONSTITUTION OF THE WORLD HEALTH

ORGANIZATION. https://apps.who.int/gb/bd/PDF/bd47/EN/constitution-en.pdf

National Research Council (US) Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life; Bulatao RA,

Anderson NB, editors. Understanding Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health in Late Life: A

Research Agenda. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2004. 10, Health

Care. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK24693/

Shvili, J. (2020, May 30). 10 countries without universal healthcare.

WorldAtlas. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/10-notable-countries-that-are-still-without-

universal-healthcare.html